She said Birmingham's bid could proceed "subject to that", but also told the House of Commons that bringing the games to Birmingham "would present a unique opportunity for the West Midlands, and it would of course promote global Britain across the Comonwealth."

Birmingham's bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games took a huge leap forward last week when it was named as the UK’s candidate city, seeing off a challenge from Liverpool.

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Staffordshire MP Michael Fabricant (Con Lichfield) urged the Prime Minister to back Birmingham's bid. He told the House of Commons: "Last week in the face of stiff competition, Birmingham defeated the brilliant Liverpool approach and won the award for the Commonwealth Games in the West Midlands, which is excellent news fro the economy not only for Birmingham but also for the greater West Midlands, including Lichfield.

"So would the Prime Minister speak to the Chancellor to ensure that he backs the bid as well, and then bat for Britain to ensure that Birmingham wins the Commonwealth games over Kuala Lumpur?

Mrs May told him: "Obviously the Commonwealth games being hosted in the UK in 2022 in Birmingham would present a unique opportunity for the West Midlands, and it would of course promote global Britain across the Comonwealth.

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"The next step is for Birmingham to demonstrate value for money in their bid, but subject to that I've no doubt that Birmingham will continue the UK's rich history of hosting successful sporting events."

Birmingham has not revealed how much it expects hosting the games in the city to cost.